Sunday, July 10, 2011

Touching the Spirit


Hello Every one,

Question of the week : When was the last time your spirit got touched ? How long has it been since some one or some thing inspired your spirit ? Was it a long time friend or a movie or maybe an art piece ? Have you notice how little or no effort is made in touching people's spirit these days ? Being touched spiritually doesn't have to be a big event. It can be any situation that others take for granted. For example............... Today, I was in the Metro North Station saying good bye to my heartmate. In the entrance, resides a news/magazine stand where half of New York stops to buy water, gum or get a $1.00 coffee. What made this business special was the vendor taking the time to say" bless you" to every customer. He was reaching out to them and saying a simple blessing. Would you believe a few people cursed at him. He was not stopped at all. He kept giving the verbal blessings to every customer. I was very touched by his loving open heart. What a sweet and courageous act. How genuine and pure. I responded with a gracious thank you.
Another question how many of you would have continue to give a blessing after you got cursed out ? (I would back off for a minute or two, then continue) It takes courage to show your humanity to others.

The presence of a beautiful human being.



Today was the strawberry, apple, pineapple and grape fruit drink. I spiked it with a little fresh ginger, agave and lemon. That's all I wanted for the day. I'm getting lazy, lazy, lazy with preparing big raw food dishes. Soups are the easiest to make. Salads can have all the nuts, fruit and vegetables. A jar of raw nut butter is easy to use in most dishes. Yes, eventually I will break the laziness and prepare a dish. But for now I am loving this fruit drink I made in the "Living Well Montel" blender. Note to all - Remember to add enough water when making your own fruit drinks. Nothing is extracted.
Here is an exciting fruit appetizer dish I haven't made yet. My mango isn't ripe. Tropical Fruit salsa from Alissa Cohen's," Raw Food for Everyone"

TROPICAL FRUIT SALSA

1 Ripe Mango, peeled, pitted, and diced
1 red bell peeper, seeded and diced
1/2 cup diced pineapple
1/2 cup diced coconut meat
pinch of sea salt
5 to 6 torn basil leaves.

1. Put the mango, bell pepper, pineapple, coconut, and salt in a bowl and toss. Let sit at room temperature for 1 hour before serving.
2. Just before serving toss again with basil. Cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
Enjoy !






purple cami - Made in America Outlet
cotton pink wrap skirt- vintage 70's
white leather wrist ba
g - vintage 70's
fishnet shoes - any bargain outlet store


Thank You for Reading
Peace and Light to You.

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Summer's Most Wanted

Hello Every one,

Only two days before Summer and I'm inspired to make more dresses. I love the asymmetric flower design dress from Polyvore. I love how the bag is soft and bold at the same time. The Aqua flower shades are pretty. These prints are great against Leopard. Leopard Prints build a strong foundation in your wardrobe - you can never have enough accessories.

Summer's Most Wanted by Flowerheart featuring leopard print accessories
Summer's Most Wanted





As you can see I love flower prints. Flower print
decorations make me feel happy.
The asymmetric flower dress has inspired me t
o cut this navy blue dress. But, I have to do some thinking before I approach this dress with the scissors. Some garments are complete, perfect and whole as they are.
















I made a quick beet and carrot soup. When you are not following a Raw Food recipe it will take careful planning creating a balance of the five taste. (Sweet, sour, salty, spicy and bitter) This time I balanced salty, sour and sweet. I took a Raw Food Level 1 chef training class. Knowledge of preparing Raw Foods will help.










The highlight of the day was creating this Raw Food Apple pie !!. IT came out AWESOME.
I used cashews and coconut to make the crust. Dehydrated for two hours. Then I made the Apple filling with lemon, Cinnamon and Agave. Placed back into the Dehydrator for another hour. In a regular recipe , there would be another ingredient added to the filler to make the Apples stick or stand firmer.



Looks like the real baked Apple Pie.
Enjoy !


Happy Father's Day Everyone. My idea of the Father role, is a Man who Cultivates his child or children's unique qualities.

Thank You for Reading
Peace and Light to You.












Sunday, June 12, 2011

Spring is Back


Hello Everyone,
Spring weather came back to the city this weekend. It was a nice break from the past few days of 92-97 degree heat. The sudden drop in the temperature was chilly for me. I had to put on a wool sweater and a scarf. Plus a slip under my lined skirt. Yes, I am one of those women who do where slips. I 'm not crazy about the new thin stretchy fabrics that show every lump, bump and underwear. I truly don't know how women can show every personal thing they got. Can't we leave something to the imagination ? The worse I have seen when the weather hit 97....... an obese woman in white leggins. The fabric was so thin you can see the white and red polka dot bikini panties. Cellulite was bulging every where. People were making comments and a few men where laughing at her. This woman had the attitude of "I don't care what you think". I couldn't laugh or make a remark. I just felt sad that this fashion has become acceptable for women. It is not for me to judge, but how did we get this bad? Honestly, where is the pride?
The return of practical clothing is needed.

I'm on the first chapter of the Appetizer section in Alissa Cohen's book. The nut section is fun. How much torture it is to smell the aroma from the Candied Nuts stands downtown and can't treat yourself to a bag because you are a raw foodist.
Here is a fun way of having all the candied nuts you want. The thing is, it will take two days in the dehydrator. I followed the written advice and double the recipe.



makes 2 cups
2 cups of nuts, any type and soaked them in water for 8 hours and then dehydrate overnight.
1/4 cup of agave nectar
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt.
- put the nuts in a bowl and toss with the agave, cayenne, and salt. Arrange the spiced nuts on Teflex-lined dehydrator racks and dehydrate for 24 hours.
- Store the nuts in a sealed container until ready to use.

There are other variety of nut recopies in the Alissa Cohen's book. If you are interested in Raw Foods, I encourage you to purchase the book. You will gain valuable education about Raw Foods.
Enjoy !


I'm hoping this skirt is from the 80's. It has a made is America label and the lining is good quality. There is slight aging to it. A treasure found at the Salvation Army. Every once a blue moon you will find a treasure. The skirt has a small yoke detail in the front that you can't see because I'm bundled up with layers. I'm not sure about my size when I'm shopping for vintage garments. It helps to carry along a tape measure. My waist measures 27 inches. The skirt was a the same.




The wool Scarf is over 20 years. The denim jacket/sweater is thrifted. The M.J. shoes are John Fluevog. The bag is brand new from Massey's.

Thank You for Reading
Peace and light to You.

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Heart and the Home

Hello Everyone,

The saying goes "Home is where the heart is". Home is an extension of the heart. A large part of your home is the heart. It is important to come into the heart. Running away from the heart creates distance and coldness. Think of your heart as a beautiful furnace that needs fuel to keep it burning. The heart muscle creates heat. This heat is love. It warms the whole chest and makes you feel cozy inside. You stand within the heart and watch it grow and the love gets bigger. This love makes you feel whole inside. Your able to listen to your heart with all the love it is generating. The heart never lies to you , it is you inner guidance. This is what it means to be fully present in the heart. The world can be a cold place at times. But the harshness does not effect your heart at all. Because you have come into your truth. You have come home into the heart. One can not live without the other. After saying this , It doesn't matter if you live in a mansion or a shack, you are not truly happy if you are separated from the heart. Just think of the famous people you know who are not happy. They seldom live in the many homes they own. Beautiful palaces but cold as ice to live in.
I am doing my best not to get pulled towards the coldness or negativity in the world. There is so much beauty out there to find and discover. I do take time to meditate on the warmth of my heart. I'm learning to maintain a warm loving temperature , so that nothing in the outside can change it. Generating love that blocks out the negativity VS. walking around cold, not feeling or placing a shell around you.





Alissa Cohen New book adds newer light on Raw Foods. I can see the personal growth and transition she has made. Her life has expanded.
I just finished reading the first 63 pages. By next week I will try a new recipe.
I encourage you to buy this book. Very wonderful for first time Raw Foodist and inspiring for long timers.









My favorite vintage online shop dandelion Vintage clothing had this beautiful hand painted porcelain pin from the 1800's I feel in love with . Also the 1950's rhinestone choker. I promise you, These are the only two items of jewelery I will purchase this year. Can't afford any more. It was worth it. I trust this online shop. Dandelion Vintage has integrity and very reasonable with the prices.






vintage 70's blue jeans - Rags A Go Go
top - made in America outlet store
sandals - john fluevog

Thank you for reading
Peace and light to You.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

I'm Back !

Hello Everyone, I'm Back !

I've been overcoming a little illness. My job has a huge air conditioner that blast freezing air into the atmosphere and I developed a cough. A week later, I got chest congestion . My Doctor told me that the air conditioner was causing dryness in my lungs. The constant cough was the result. He suggested I sleep at night with a humidifier to add moister back into my lungs. I feel like I'm sleeping in the Amazon Jungle at night but I'm not coughing as much. I added deep breathing exercises to help. My condition is improving. Still can't turn on the air conditioner in my apartment. Every day a thermos of hot tea or water is with me. I'm going to research for herbs or holistic treatment to build up my lung organs. I'm grateful it wasn't an infection or a cold.

Other things are happening to me to keep me on my toes. My old food allergies are surfacing. Back in 2000 I took an Food-Reaction IgG test. It a test to find out what foods are causing allergies or how the combination of food react when mixed together. My immune system was so weak at the time. I was placed on a rotation diet. Every thing I ate, including the spices and condiments were designed for how my body digest them. Whether you have food allergies or not, a rotation diet has many benefits. The top four are - preventing food addictions and allergies. Adding a variety of fresh nutrients and unprocessed foods. The saturated and trans fatty acids, sodium and refined sugars are cut down. Lastly, It can prevent and often correct digestive problems.
I'm converting this Rotation Diet into Raw Foods. It is taking a little work to balance what I need to eat. I'm giving my body a chance to balance itself out. I'm ready to take on the New for the next four weeks.

I made a Raw Food Spinach and Yellow Squash soup. The taste was not bad , I ate three bowls of it then remembered I didn't add any salt.






What else I've been up to ..............I got the new Alissa Cohen Book . By next month I'll be able to handle preparing two or three recipes a week. I will take a peek at a few recipes this month. Her book is easy to read and so much fun to follow. The ends results are always best for the body.













I felt like pink and teal today. I added a Leopard print sash with the outfit. Every thing is vintage
I wish I could wear vintage shoes but my width is too wide.


Thank You for Reading
Peace and light to You.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

In Loving Memory



Hello Every One,
I took time away from blogging for a while. My Mother passed away before the spring season began. Her life will be missed by many.
Two months ago, she smiled at me and told me she wouldn't live to see the spring. I always admired her wisdom to know the outcome of situations or seeing the bigger picture when life became complicated or confusing. This time, she was giving me support to accept her closing the chapter in this life and for me to start a new chapter in my life. At first, it was a struggle to accept this but my committed love was to travel this journey from beginning to end. We are not put on this planet to live forever. This is why it is important to live life the best way we can.
When she was first diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, She showed me how to live. The "never give up spirit"was her mantra. One of first things she did when she recovered from her first attack of MS - learning how to swim. She outlived the limited time when one is diagnosed with MS. She stunned the doctors all of the time with her witty sense of humor, her positive attitude and her philosophy of living in the moment.
A little background history ..........She was a Lt. in the Army. She was one of the first African American Nurses to serve in WW2. What an accomplishment for an African American woman at the time. Back in the 40's, not many opportunities were available for African Americans. The top profession back then was Teaching. She is now buried with my Father who also served this country. They met in the Army and got married. I came later down the road. My mom was ahead to the movement of women having babies in their later years. I 'm a great Aunt which I fine quite amusing.
Towards the end of her life she became this warm glow of love that everyone responded to . She mastered loving without begrudging her heart.
I'm left with her gift of love and will continue to grow from that love.




Don't let the sweet smile fool you , she was a feisty Lady.
I will miss her dearly.




vintage jacket - I added the lace to the pockets
skirt - Ayssa
vintage - scarf/shades




Thank You for Reading
Peace and light to you.

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Spring Market

Hello Everyone,

I've been Viewing the Day After Pictures from Japan. They are facing the worst crises since World War 2. My prayers go out to them. The earthquakes and other natural disasters are the global signs for everyone to take to heart that life is precious. I take this as a sign for all of the countries around the world to be called upon to take lead in building a global culture of humanity. (I still think of Haiti).

I am serious about doing my early morning walks , I found a free flea market on Avenue A and 11th street in NYC. It's just called the Market, but what a colorful lively blend of people from all walks of life, shapes and sizes. I love it when I can mingle among people who come to browse or shop. I have the most encouraging conversations with people. Outdoor weekend flea markets that occupy parking lots are the best.





I met three friendly vendors in the back corner on the far right side. They were setting up the first rack of clothes . They had the best looking Brocade garments hanging on display.


Gary, Eddie and Josh are the vendors. I arrived a bit early, Gary was setting up his fabulous designer shoe collection. He carries a variety of sizes. The sexy teal platform pump caught my attention. In a size 9 .




Look at the reptiles. Killer points !!




Josh is showing me this cute fringe bag that is the latest crave this spring.



Notice the long beautiful sheer Organza dress from France hanging next to him. The shape is a princess style with lightly puff sleeves.


He showed me a unique metallic leather bag/clutch.



I was focusing on the green and aqua colors for the spring.



Nice mirror bangles.



What did I end up buying?

This buckle. Reminds me of a lucky shoe horn.

Other great bargins at the market: Two scarfs from the dollar table, hand crafted bracelet and ties for my heartmate.





Photographs from the 20's to the 40's are captivating to me.


The snack I carry with me . "Himalayan Harvest" Organic Hunza Goji Trail Mix. Find out more about their products on GoHunza.com



Thank you for reading
Peace and light to you.